Holiday Boredom Busters!

It’s school holidays!  The kids should be so excited, after all, they have six whole weeks of freedom!  Instead, three solemn figures are lounging about on the couch to the chorus of “we’re bored!”  and “there’s nothing to do!”  ‘Nothing to do?’, you think to yourself, ‘why don’t they just go outside and play?’  If this sounds like your family then you might be looking for some easy games your children can play, perhaps with their friends.  Best of all, none of the following activities require expensive equipment.  So if going to the movies just isn’t in the budget this year, never fear, Old-School Yard Games is here!

What you’ll need

·        Tennis ball

·        Larger ball or balloon

·        Elastic

·        Old Sock or Stocking

·        Marbles

·        Chalk

·        Frisbee

·        Hands, feet, knees, and toes!

·        THAT’S ALL!

Think back to your own holidays as a child.  Did you play elastics?  Perhaps you loved a game of tiggy?  Or you might have even been a wiz at marbles.  Playtime was for running around outside getting dirty and big group games with the neighbours.  The more children the merrier.  If you’d like to re-introduce your children to the simplistic joy of games you used to play in the school-yard then read on and discover just how much fun being outdoors can be!  Better still, why not join in with the kids and have a trip down memory lane while you’re at it J

England Ireland Scotland Wales, inside outside puppy-dog’s tails!  One piece of elastic and two feet later you have one of the easiest games to set up for the kids in the backyard.  Elastics is a great game that can be played solo, using two chairs, or with up to an endless number of friends, just take it in turns or use multiple pieces of elastic.  And just because we at Communities for Children love this game, check out the insert for some sample rhymes!!  You could make up your own rhymes, and these could also be used when playing a game of handclapping, or skipping!

If Elastics isn’t your child’s cup of tea, did you know that the humble tennis ball can also provide hours of fun?  For a game of handball all you need is a piece of chalk to draw up the grid (or use the cracks in the pavement for that matter) and a ball!  Or grab an old sock or stocking and tie the tennis ball inside to make each child their very own flying fox toy.   Swap for a larger ball, or even a balloon for a game of ‘keep it up’ where the object is simple, just keep the ball off the ground!  Join in to help keep score. How many times can you do this? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Or how about even more! 

If you have a Frisbee lying around the house somewhere, this is all you need for a game of flying goals!  Simply aim to get the Frisbee past the goal of the other person.  Just a tip from me to you, tree’s make fantastic goals!  Or have the kids get a group together and play a winner takes all game of Base-Bee!!  (see insert on how to play this great game!) 

By simply getting your children to use a pack of marbles, a tennis ball, and old sock or stocking, frisbee, balloon, piece of elastic and their own body parts you can encourage them to go outside, have some fun, and save the chorus of “We’re bored” for at least a rainy day. 

Keep an eye out for Old-School Yard Games at your Child’s school this year!  Or contact us for more information or for a pack of ‘have a go’ cards that explain each and every game.

A.S.

Project Development Worker

Communities for Children